The harmony, serenity and civility typically associated with the sign of the scales will be in short supply on the Libra New Moon October 16^th. There’s pressure from all sides during this phase. 



The Sabian symbol for the New Moon is “a third wing on the left side of a butterfly” implying the emergence of something extra, something more, tipping the scales. 

Mars is still retrograde on his home turf in Aries, and sits across the sky, poking at this New Moon. There’s a push from within, fighting for equality, fairness and justice. During this period, compromise is hard to come by as everyone has their own order of business. It may be time to confront matters by taking another look at past behaviors and activities. Mars in Aries is an aggressive placement and even while not in top form due to being retrograde, there’s an intensity just below the surface, serving as ‘devil’s advocate’ to knock you off the fence and disrupt your passivity, compliance or acceptance. 

You want involvement and connection, cooperation and collaboration, and your fair share of give and take, but also to be acknowledged for your part and entitled to having your needs met. You’re not willing to idly stand by being agreeable just to keep the peace or to avoid being offensive. In fact, your might be on the offense as you’re moved to stand up for your beliefs, and what you feel is right, directed by your knowledge that comes from experience, of knowing what is important, establishing standards and focusing on essentials, removing all doubt and progressing along on your journey of evolution. For some time now, there’s been a major overhaul underway along with an ongoing process of dismantling and deconstruction, while simultaneously there’s restructuring, transformation and transmutation, revival and renewal. 

The Sabian Symbol for Mars reads, “a pugilist entering the ring” signaling that you’re ready for the fight. You got this and all eyes are on you. The gloves are off now. 

And that’s not all…this lunation gets a smackdown from Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto congregated in Capricorn and all recently moving forward after a long period retrograde. The pressure is on concerning truth, law, judgement and your sense of right and wrong, authority, accountability, power and control. All of it weighs in the balance now.

Mercury is retrograde in Scorpio just before the New Moon- October 13^th through November 3^rd. It’s a time of digging deep. Your mind will not be on trivial things but instead on things that are complex and multilayered, maybe even matters of life, death and survival. You may momentarily catch a glimpse of what’s behind the curtain as the veil is thinning this time of year and you learn to trust your perceptions. Your conversations during this period may be intense with passionate arguments. 

Mercury also faces off with Uranus in Taurus which could bring surprising news, perhaps related to insurance, estates, finances, loans, credit and taxes. There may even be innovative ideas regarding health and wellness. 

Mercury is the Messenger of the Universe, so when he retrogrades, communications of all kinds get a bit wonky. Mercury retrograde rules of thumb are to not sign documents, recheck your mail, emails, directions and plans for errors or to make sure they’re sent to the appropriate party etc. and to avoid buying electronics and appliances. It’s a time to revise and review not to move forward with something new. I find it very interesting that Mercury is stationing Direct on November 3^rd-which happens to be Election Day in the U.S.,  meaning it’s switching direction and has an appearance of symbolically standing still as it moves from backward to forward motion. Mercury rules over mail and postage and is retrograde the weeks leading up to the Election, and as many are voting by mail, so it’s safe to say that it’s quite likely that there will be a stall or delay with the results. We had a similar situation with Mercury in the Election of 2000. 

We’re in for a bit of a ride the remainder of the year, next up- an exciting Halloween Blue Moon! 

New Moon Blessings and Good Vibes to ALL!